


Long, Long Way from Home

by sinnerforhire



Series: 365 Days of J2 Fanfic [18]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Fairy Jensen, M/M, Sharing Clothes, Snow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 21:56:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9092245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinnerforhire/pseuds/sinnerforhire
Summary: When Jared finds a shy young man shivering in the cold and takes him home, he has no idea what he's getting himself into.





	

The only thing Jared loves more than his dog Sadie is snow. So when Jared wakes up on Saturday morning to the soft tapping of snowflakes against his bedroom window and a light dusting of white all over the ground, he whoops with excitement. He quickly dresses, throws on his rubber boots, and claps his hands to get Sadie’s attention. She rises reluctantly from her denim bed, but when she picks up on Jared’s child-like joy, she jumps right up and runs to the door. Jared clips her leash onto her collar and pockets some plastic bags. Then he puts on his own hat and gloves, grabs the keys, and locks the door behind them.

The snow is falling lightly, sparkling under the warm glow of the streetlights, and Sadie’s like a puppy again, bounding along and batting at the soft piles of snow in the grass boulevards. 

They’re about halfway through their usual circuit when Jared comes upon an unusual sight. Leaning against a wooden fence post is a young man in only a thin blue tunic and tan leggings, arms wrapped around his chest in a futile effort to keep from freezing. His lips are nearly blue, his face so colorless that his freckles look like flecks of coal on his cheeks, and tears are streaming from green eyes framed by the longest lashes Jared has ever seen on a guy. Sadie surges towards him, but Jared holds her back. “Sir?” he says, keeping his voice low. “Um, are you okay?”

The guy’s head snaps up in surprise, and he bites his blue-tinged lip. “Uh, I don’t—I don’t know.”

Jared walks over and extends a hand. The guy takes it, and even through his fleece gloves Jared can feel how cold the guy’s skin is. He pulls him to his feet and shrugs off his parka. He’s got a hoodie and a t-shirt underneath; he’ll be okay until he can get the guy back to his house to warm up. He wraps the coat around the guy’s shoulders and zips it up to his chin. “Thank you,” the guy whispers.

“My house is about two miles that way,” he tells the guy, pointing back the way they came. “Come with us, you can warm up there.” 

The guy nods. “Th-th-that would be n-nice,” he murmurs through chattering teeth. Jared pulls the hood up over the guys head and ties the drawstring tight. 

“I’m Jared,” Jared tells him. “What’s your name?”

“J-Jensen.” Jensen sniffles. “I’m k-kind of l-l-lost.”

Jared smiles softly. “Well, we’ll get you warmed up first, and then we’ll figure out how to get you where you’re going.”

Jensen nods. Jared places a hand on his back to guide him along as Sadie sniffs his legs with rapt interest. “Sadie, leave him alone,” Jared says, not unkindly, and bats her nose away from Jensen’s knees. “You walk nice.”

“She’s a n-nice d-dog,” says Jensen, but he sounds uncertain.

Jared grins. “She’s great. She’s a rescue, of course. I’ve been thinking about getting another dog, but a friend of mine found a pregnant cat under her porch and is getting ready to foster the kittens, so I might end up with a cat instead.”

“I l-like cats,” says Jensen. “I have a b-black cat at h-home.”

“What’s his name? Or her name?”

“H-her name’s Eilish.”

“That’s an unusual name. I’ve never heard that before.”

“It’s Irish,” says Jensen. “That’s where my family is from.”

“You’re an awful long way from home, then,” replies Jared.

Jensen looks down at the ground and nods sadly.

It takes them another half hour to get back to Jared’s house, but when they do, Jared immediately takes Jensen into the bathroom and turns on the shower. He strips Jensen’s wet, completely unsuitable clothes off and hangs them over the towel rod, and then adjusts the temperature of the water so it’s hot but not scalding. He’s deliberately not looking at Jensen’s body. He’s doing a good deed here, not picking up a date. Jensen hesitantly steps over the side of the tub and under the water. Jared closes the shower curtain and takes Jensen’s clothes down to the laundry room to throw in the dryer. He fills the electric kettle with water and turns it on. He’ll make some tea for Jensen once he’s done.

Jared goes upstairs and digs out a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie that are just slightly too small for him, which means they’ll still be pretty big on Jensen, but he’ll just have to deal. He goes back to the bathroom and sets them on the closed toilet seat. He takes a towel out of the closet and hangs it on the rod. “I bought clothes,” Jared tells him. “And there’s a towel. Come down to the kitchen whenever you’re done.”

Jared goes back to the kitchen. It’s only a couple minutes before Jensen joins him, wearing the oversized hoodie and stepping on the bottoms of the pant legs. Jared pours some hot water into two mugs and puts an Earl Grey teabag in each one. “Do you take milk or sugar in your tea?” he asks.

Jensen shakes his head. Jared sets the mug in front of him and puts a generous amount of sugar in his own. Jensen picks up the mug and holds it in both hands, but doesn’t drink from it. He holds it close enough to his face to breathe in the steam. Jared sips from his own. “It’s not that hot, you can drink it now,” he says. 

Jensen sips from the mug, but keeps it positioned near his face. “Thank you,” he murmurs, eyes cast down.

Jared takes a deep breath. “Not to be rude, but…what were you doing out in the snow with no coat or boots?”

Jensen bites his lip. “I got lost,” he answers, so softly that Jared can barely hear him. “I’m—I’m not from around here.”

“Clearly,” says Jared, smiling to take the sting out of the word. “Did someone—was someone else responsible?”

Jensen shakes his head. “No, I’m just—” He closes his eyes. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

Jared decides to just come out and say it. “Is someone hurting you?” 

Jensen’s eyes widen. “No, no, nothing like that.” He takes a deep breath. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but—I’m a faerie. And I got trapped here when I was trying to get back to the faerie realm.”

“Oh.” That actually makes a surprising amount of sense, which makes Jared think that perhaps he’s got a touch of hypothermia himself. “Um, is there anything I can do?”

Jensen’s shoulders slump. “Not that I know of.” He sips his tea. “For some reason, the passage is closed to me. I don’t know why, and I don’t know what to do to fix it.”

Jared frowns. “Are there any other faeries on this side who could help you?”

Jensen shrugs. “I don’t know yet.”

“Well, you’re welcome to stay here until you figure it out,” says Jared, smiling warmly. “Anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

Jensen looks up at him through those long, luscious lashes. “Actually…”

* * *

Jared finishes gathering the things Jensen asked for. He’s got two emergency candles, a glass bowl of water, and a bowl of cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg. Jensen arranges everything on the dining room table and lights the candles. Then he speaks softly in a language Jared can’t identify and sprinkles the sugar mixture into the bowl at each compass point. The bowl glows pink, and Jensen speaks that same language, but a little louder and more conversational. He pauses, apparently to listen for a response, and then speaks again. This happens a few more times before Jensen stirs the bowl with his finger and the glow disappears.

“Did it work?” asks Jared, even though he’s pretty sure he knows the answer.

Jensen nods, but he doesn’t look happy. “I have to wait for the next full moon to be able to go back.”

Jared pulls his phone out of his pocket and looks it up. “That’s not for another two weeks, almost.”

“I know.” Jensen blows the candles out and slumps back against the chair. “I won’t impose on you. I’ll find somewhere else to stay.”

“No!” Jared startles himself with how loud his voice is, and Jensen nearly jumps out of the chair. “Please, stay,” he goes on in a quieter voice. “I want you to stay. It’s not an imposition, I promise.”

Jensen gives him a small smile. “I would like that very much,” he murmurs.

“So would I.” Jared grins at him.

Underneath the table, Sadie softly woofs her approval.


End file.
